Weekly Reading Thread Week of Aug 10

I just got Big Little Lies from the library. I think I will read it next. Can't wait!

I enjoyed If I Stay and am looking forward to seeing how it translates to a movie.

I love Liane Moriarty, I'm going to have to read that one. I'm currently reading Salt, Sugar, Fat, which is not light reading. I don't usually get worked up about things, but this book talks about how the big food companies essentially manipulate us into eating junk and being too fat. It's been eye-opening.

Two for me this week.

East of Eden, the classic by John Steinbeck. This was not even close to what I expected. I didn't like it at the beginning and almost stopped reading in several spots. I am glad I stuck it out. The ending is oh. so. amazing. Still, getting to that place was such hard work that I gave it 4/5 stars.

The other one was The Bait of Satan, a Christian book on forgiveness by John Bevere. I have read a lot of good Biblical material on this subject. This book was one of the best I have ever read. Excellent. If you are struggling with forgiveness - and every Christian does at some point - this is a Must. Read. 5/5 stars.

Lisa

Only one for me this week. Another Elin Hilderbrand. This one The Love Season. What to say…. it wasn't my favorite. It struck me as significantly different (not a bad thing) from her other books, but I'm not sure why exactly. Has anyone else read this one? I've got a question for you if you have.

Two this week . . .

Baygirl by Heather T. Smith - a YA novel about a young girl dealing with family upheaval, her father's alcoholism, the death of her grandmother, and being displaced from her home. This could have been great - it was ho, hum formula YA.

Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline - lots have already chimed in on tis one. I agree that it is an enjoyable, easy read. I really didn't know about the Orphan Trains in the US. The characters were fine and the ending was, at the same time, sad and hopeful.

I'm listening to Inferno by Dan Brown in the car. I requested the audiobook from the library when it first came out and I finally got it last week. So far it is good, but I think I've read enough Dan Brown books where I can kind of predict what is going to happen.

I'm reading Mrs. Poe for the book club. I never knew much about Edgar Allen Poe. I always saw him as a tortured writer who liked to drink. I find this fictionalized look into his life very eye opening. It make me want to learn more about him and read more of his work.

Three books this week.

Paper Townsby John Green. I liked this. I'd give it a 5/5 for YA, but probably a 3.5/4 out of five for all ages. It kept me reading and I really liked the protagonist. It was a little far fetched at times. I would recommend it to my teen students —both boys and girls. He is an engaging author for sure.

Take This Manby Brando Skyhorse. This is the memoir of Brando, an award winning writer, who grew up thinking he was Native American but was actually Mexican in heritage. His mom was a compulsive liar and narcissist and Brando had many different men come in and out of his life as his mom searched for companionship. It as good, but It didn't resonant on a level like Glass Castle or Angela's Ashes.

Ruin and Rising the last in the Grisha trilogy. I really enjoyed this series. It is fantasy with very cool world building. It also has a satisfying ending. 4.5/5 for series. Great YA, but I think it holds it own in the overall fantasy genre. 

I'm smack dab in the middle of "Voyager" which is book 3 in the Outlander series and happy as a clam. Ecstatic. I LOVE this book! Almost as much as the first! The second book was slow going here and there, but this one rocks!

For the Pea who asked there are 8 books so far in the Outlander series, but Diana is still writing. I just started reading them myself when I saw the preview for the "Outlander" series on the Strarz channel about 6 weeks ago. When I saw those previews I whipped my head around and said, "wait a minute-it's about time travel?!!!" I adore time travel books! All this time-for all of these previous 20 years I'd been under the mistaken impression that Outlander was a romance novel-the type of Danille Steel fluff I used to read in my 20's. Which is fine for what it is, it's just I don't read it now. Gosh darn it what I was missing!!!!  I'm making up for it now though.

Turns out Diana Gavaldon has become my favorite writer in almost 50 years of reading-I'm 54. She is absolutely incredible! I love highly detailed writing and she's a master at this. My other favourite is Connie Willis who is a wonderful science fiction writer.

Having the series on Starz is a bonus. Especially that it's going to be a mini-series (and not trying to squeeze all of the first book into a 2 hour film) and they are doing such an amazing job with it!

Debbie in MD.

I read Mr. Mercedes by Stephen king today. It was pretty good and a very quick read for me.

I'm reading Twisted Sisters by Jen Lancaster. It's not a memoir like most of her other books. Liking it so far. I especially like pop culture references. I think we watch as the same trash TV shows.

I finished The Donor by Helen Fitzgerald and really enjoyed it. It's about a single father of twin girls who both need a kidney transplant.
I then read the free e-book by Jodi Picoult-Larger than Life. Enjoyed that too.
Now I am reading The Shell Seekers by Rosamunde Pilcher. I am only in the beginning chapters but liking it very much so far.

I just finished The Giver series by Lois Lowry. It is YA and there are 4 books in all. Initially the first and second seem unconnected, but then they link up in the third and the fourth. It was interesting, but the first was definitely the strength of the series.

I am now reading Big Little Lies. I am about 1/4 of the way through it and loving it.

I didn't check in last week, so this is two weeks worth of books for me.

The Painter by Peter Heller.  Heller is the author of The Dog Stars, which I loved - this one not so much.  The story of a painter and how he deals with violence and tragedy.  2/5

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie.  Excellent YA novel - the story of a Native American coming-of-age on a Reservation. 5/5

A Bridge Between Us by Julie Shigekuni.  The story of four generations of Japanese-Americans living in San Fransisco.  This one was just okay. 3/5

The Shell Seekers by Rosamunde Pilcher.  Set in England, this one tells the story of a family and spans the time period from WWII through the 1980s.  Very good. 4/5

Hounded by David Rosenfelt.  The latest addition to the Andy Carpenter mystery series.  I really enjoy this series (and unlike Evanovich's characters, the ones in this series change and grow).  5/5

In a thread about re-reading books, Grinning Cat mentioned the Guests of War trilogy as one she liked to re-read. I had never heard of it so I found a copy on Amazon with all three books included and ordered it. I finished the fist book, The Sky Is Falling, and am part way through the second book, Looking At the Moon. It's a really charming series, about a sister and brother who are sent from Great Britain to Canada for the duration of WW II.

I'm also reading The Hidden White House: Harry Truman and the Reconstruction of America's Most Famous Residence. This is about the total gutting and rebuilding of the interior of the White House during Truman's administration...it's appalling to read about what terrible shape the place was in before they rebuilt it. It's kind of a miracle nobody got smushed by a falling ceiling or chandelier!